Luxe Lobster: Mail-Order Pick

BY

Carla Ranicki

"It's lobster without bibs or hassle," says Cal Hancock of her Maine-based Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. Since 2000, the company has specialized in excellent mail-order dishes. Hancock taught tourists how to eat whole lobsters at her grandmother's restaurant in the '60s; after 30 years in the Midwest working in health management, she returned to Maine to start her business in Cundy's Harbor, one of the oldest commercial lobstering villages in the state. Hancock's offerings include Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies, a pastry-topped stew delivered in ceramic ramekins ($60 for four, plus shipping), and Downeast Lobster Rolls, which Hancock describes as "lobster plus lobster with just a little mayonnaise," ($63 for six). The latest addition: Christmas Cove Lobster Cakes, coated in crisp panko, Japanese bread crumbs ($60 for eight). DETAILS 800-552-0142 or hancockgourmetlobster.com.